Editing Gertie the Dinosaur (section)

== Background ==
[[File:Winsor McCay 1906.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A black-and-white photograph of a seated middle-aged, balding man in a suit and tie, head leaning lightly on his right hand|Winsor McCay (pictured in 1906) was a pioneer in comic strips and animation.]]

[[Winsor McCay]]&nbsp;({{circa|1867/1871}}&nbsp;– 1934){{efn|Different accounts have given McCay's birth year as 1867, 1869, and 1871. His birth records are not extant.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=22}}}} had already worked prolifically as a commercial artist and cartoonist by the time he began creating newspaper comic strips such as ''[[Dream of the Rarebit Fiend]]''&nbsp;(1904–1911){{efn|''Rarebit Fiend'' was revived between 1911 and 1913 under other titles, such as ''Midsummer Day Dreams'' and ''It Was Only a Dream''.{{sfn|Merkl|2007|p=478}}}} and his signature strip ''[[Little Nemo]]'' (1905–1914).{{efn|The strip was titled ''Little Nemo in Slumberland'' from 1905{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=97}} to 1911, and ''In the Land of Wonderful Dreams'' from 1911{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=164}} to 1914.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=229}}}}{{sfn|Eagan|2010|p=32}} In 1906, McCay began performing on the vaudeville circuit as well, doing [[chalk talk]]s—performances in which he drew pictures before live audiences.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|pp=131–132}}

Inspired by the [[flip book]]s his son brought home,{{sfnm|1a1=Beckerman|1y=2003|p=18 |2a1=Canemaker|2y=2005|2p=157}} McCay recognized the potential to create "moving pictures" from his cartoons.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=157}} He claimed to be the first man in the world to make animated cartoons,{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=157}} but he was preceded by the American [[J. Stuart Blackton|James Stuart Blackton]] and the French [[Émile Cohl]].{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=157}} McCay's [[Little Nemo (1911 film)|first film]] starred his ''Little Nemo'' characters and debuted in movie theatres in 1911; he soon incorporated it into his vaudeville act.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=160}} He followed it in 1912 with ''[[How a Mosquito Operates]]'',{{sfn|Eagan|2010|p=33}} in which a giant, naturalistically animated mosquito sucks the blood of a sleeping man.{{sfnm|1a1=Barrier|1y=2003|1p=17 |2a1=Dowd|2a2=Hignite|2y=2006|2p=13}} McCay gave the mosquito a personality and balanced humor with the horror of the nightmarish situation.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=167}} His animation was criticized as being so lifelike that he must have traced the characters from photographs{{sfn|Mosley|1985|p=62}} or resorted to tricks using wires.{{sfn|Murray|Heumann|2011|p=92}} To show that he had not, McCay chose for his next film a creature that could not have been photographed.{{sfn|Mosley|1985|p=62}}

In 1912, McCay consulted with the [[American Historical Association|American Historical Society]] and announced plans to create a presentation featuring depictions of the great monsters that once roamed the earth.{{sfn|Crafton|1993|p=123}}{{sfn|''Motograph'' staff|1912|p=162}} He spoke of the "serious and educational work" that the animation process could enable.{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=168}} McCay had earlier introduced dinosaurs into his comic strip work, like the March 4, 1905,{{efn|{{Commons file|Winsor McCay - Dream of the Rarebit Fiend 1905-03-04.png|this comic strip}}}}{{sfn|Merkl|2007|p=32}} episode of ''Dream of the Rarebit Fiend'' in which a ''[[Brontosaurus]]'' skeleton took part in a horse race,{{sfnm|1a1=Glut|1y=1999|1p=199 |2a1=Crafton|2y=1993|2p=123}} and the May 25, 1913,{{efn|Though the strip appeared in the ''[[New York World-Telegram|Evening Telegram]]'' on May 25, 1913, it was drawn sometime between 1908 and 1911.{{sfn|Merkl|2007|p=488}} {{Commons file|Winsor McCay - Dream of the Rarebit Fiend 1913-05-25.png|this comic strip}}}} ''Rarebit Fiend'' episode in which a hunter unsuccessfully targets a dinosaur; the layout of the background to the latter bore a strong resemblance to what later appeared in ''Gertie''.{{sfnm|1a1=Canemaker|1y=2005|1pp=168,&nbsp;172–173 |2a1=Merkl|2y=2007|2pp=366–367}} In the September 21, 1913,{{efn|{{Commons file|Winsor McCay - Little Nemo - In the Land of Wonderful Dreams - 1913-09-21 - Flip in the Land of the Antediluvians.jpeg|this comic strip}}}} episode of McCay's ''Little Nemo'' strip ''In the Land of Wonderful Dreams'', titled "In the Land of the Antediluvians", Nemo meets a blue dinosaur named Bessie which has the same design as that of Gertie.{{efn|McCay used dinosaurs in other strips as well, such as the August 21, 1910 ([[:c:File:Winsor McCay - Dream of the Rarebit Fiend 1910-08-21.png|commons]]),{{sfn|Merkl|2007|pp=341–342}} and April 22, 1912, ([[:c:File:Winsor McCay - Dream of the Rarebit Fiend 1912-04-22.png|commons]]){{sfn|Merkl|2007|p=439}} episodes of ''[[Dream of the Rarebit Fiend]]'', and a 1906 ''[[Little Sammy Sneeze]]'' episode in which Sammy destroys a dinosaur skeleton with his sneeze.{{sfn|Merkl|2007|p=32}}}}{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=168}}

{{wide image|Winsor McCay - Dream of the Rarebit Fiend 1913-05-25 - panels 3–6.jpg|600px|Long-necked dinosaurs often appeared in ''[[Dream of the Rarebit Fiend]]''. (May&nbsp;25, 1913){{efn|{{Commons file|Winsor McCay - Dream of the Rarebit Fiend 1913-05-25.png|the complete strip}}}}|alt=Three panels from a comic strip. A hunter is shooting at a long-necked dinosaur. In the first panel, the hunter, seated and viewed from behind, fires his gun with a huge cloud of smoke at the dinosaur, who is swallowing an entire tree. The hunter says, "This will finish him!" In the second panel, the dinosaur is unhurt and is swallowing the tree's trunk along with the roots. The hunter fires again, and says, "I'll hit him in a different spot!" In the third panel, the hunter has stopped firing as the dinosaur begins to fill its mouth with large rocks. The hunter says, "—Now, he's eating the loose stone laying around. Will I shoot—"}}

McCay considered several names before settling on "Gertie"; his production notebooks used "Jessie the {{not a typo|Dinosaurus}}". Disney animator Paul Satterfield recalled hearing McCay in 1915 relate how he had chosen the name "Gertie":{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=168}}

{{blockquote
| He heard a couple of "sweet boys" {{interp|gay men}} out in the hall talking to each other, and one of them said, "Oh, Bertie, wait a minute!" in a very sweet voice. He thought it was a good name, but wanted it to be a girl's name instead of a boy's, so he called it "Gertie".
| Paul Satterfield, interview with Milt Gray, 1977{{sfn|Canemaker|2005|p=168}}
}}